Lifebuoy Way of life - Unilever

Lifebuoy way of life
POSITIVE
06
Foreword
“I sincerely believe that businesses like
Unilever can be a positive force for good
in the world and that such an approach is
in the interests of all our stakeholders – our
investors, our consumers, our employees
and the communities where we operate.”
{
Unilever’s mission is to meet the
everyday needs of people around
the world for nutrition, hygiene
and personal care. We do this with
products that help people feel good,
look good and get more out of life –
something which Lifebuoy has been
doing for the past 114 years.
Every day around 160 million people
in 150 countries choose our Unilever
brands to feed their families and to
clean themselves and their homes.
And every second, 91 families
choose a Lifebuoy product to deliver
on health and hygiene promises.
Unsurprisingly, therefore, the social
and environmental impacts we have
on the world come largely from our
brands, and Lifebuoy is at the centre
of the positive social impacts that
Unilever as a corporation can deliver.
This is why we are embedding
sustainability thinking into the
day-to-day activities of our brand
management and R&D teams. The
Lifebuoy brand has been at the
forefront of the piloting of tools such
as Brand Imprint and social metrics.
Both these tools are helping us think
more carefully about the resources
Foreword from Ricardo Pimenta,
Global Brand Vice President,
Unilever Health Brands
we use, such as water, packaging,
energy and raw materials, and the
social and economic impacts of our
brands in the countries where they
are sold.
Ever since the launch of its first
soap products over 100 years ago,
Lifebuoy has helped make a positive
difference to people’s health and
well-being in the developed and
developing world. But preventable
diseases, resulting from poor hygiene
and sanitation, still pose a significant
health challenge. Every year more
than 3.5 million children still die
before the age of five because of
diarrhoea and acute respiratory
infections. Encouraging people to
change their habits – by washing
hands with soap before touching
food and after going to the toilet – is
essential, and central to all Lifebuoy
brand activities.
What makes doing good sustainable
in the long run is the business
benefits that Lifebuoy delivers year
after year. It is one of the fastestgrowing
brands in our skin care
business, recording double digit
Annual Review 2008 - 2009
{
Paul Polman,
Unilever Chief
Executive
Officer
growth every year in recent years,
demonstrating its ability to offer an
invaluable response to the demands
of consumers in developing and
emerging markets.
This first Lifebuoy Social Mission
Annual Review is evidence of
how seriously Lifebuoy takes its
commitments. The report provides
a review of our latest activities to
support the Lifebuoy social mission –
a mission that is absolutely integral
to the brand.
07